Lots of breastfeeding questions ...

[cheekster]

I am determined to breastfeed this time, I only managed 2ish weeks with DS and TBH I know i didnt give it a good enough go.

So this time, I am refusing to buy any bottle / formula related items as a back up /emergency as I did last time as its too easy to bail out at 3am in the morning.

So instead, I am creating a breastfeeding survival pack - so far I have a breastfeeding pillow, but would like to know which nipple cream to buy and any other recommendations for what I may need in my survival pack ...

Also, Im interested to know about if I can drink alcohol whilst breastfeeding. I havent had a single drop of alcohol whislt pregnant (including my 30th birthday) and would love a little tipple at Christmas once baby is born - is that possible?

Buy lansinoh cream.

you can drink alcohol and breastfeed

Its useful to have a supply of food such as flapjacks that are easy to eat when you are feeding and a bottle you can drink out of that won't spill when you can't reach the table to put it down (like a sports bottle).

Plenty of DVDs is good as is training othr household members not to put the snooker on then go out of the room leaving the remote out of reach.

Lansinoh lanolin for your nips. Lots of cake and the helpline numbers. That should just about cover it. And a glass of wine will be fine! :)

Lansinoh
A comfy chair - go round all the options in your house and find a good one, you'll be in it for a while
Breast pads
Marshmellows - I bit into one each time I latched DS on in the early days!
TV box set / TV remote
Someone to wait on you hand and food so you can think about nothing except feeding your baby in the first week!
List of local breastfeeding groups

And yes you can drink, as long as its not excessive. Or you can express in advance and you won't have to worry about it at all! (Although dealing with a baby with a hangover is not good )

Good for you for deciding to give things another shot. Good luck :)

Sky+ and sky movies
Straws
Muslin clothes
I agree with the others about Lansinoh
Lots of chocolate!

And I feel your pain about not having a drink on your 30th birthday. I was pregnant at mine and also at a party I went to with a free bar doing yummy cocktails! Nothing nicer than your first taste of wine or sparkly after 9 months :)

Lanisoh again...but putting breast milk on your nipples after each feed and letting air dry helps just as much, IMO.

Am I the only one who finds Lansinoh useless and a waste of money? I have yet to find a nipple cream that makes a difference, but perhaps that's just me.

DVDs are a must for the long evening cluster feeds
Nuts/raisins/other fast healthy snacks to keep your energy levels up
Thermos flask (for a cuppa during the night feeds) - I didn't do this but wish I had
Possibly a manual breast pump and bottles - if feeding isn't going well, this may just stop you from sending your DH out for formula

Actually in terms of DVDs I specifically recommend Brideshead Revisited. I think the theme tune became a sleep association for DD (and for DH, but for different reasons ).

Oops, I've written an essay for this. I started to write a list (below) but firstly I think one of the most important, helpful things you can do is to get face-to-face, hands-on help like going to baby cafes, breastfeeding drop-ins or La Leche League meetings. It helps to get you out of the house, and the breastfeeding counsellors can be more specific if they see exactly what you and the baby are doing. But look for places that have properly trained breastfeeding counsellors. My local Baby Cafe just had uninformed, out-of-date health visitors who had had no more breastfeeding training than you or I. I recommend La Leche League meetings in particular, especially as you can go while you are still pregnant, and take along your ds too. Then you can build up a group around you who see breastfeeding as normal and achievable.

As you've already experienced, you will feel very drained and teary at points, especially in the evening or the middle of the night, or when you've tried to latch the baby on for the 400th time and it still hurts, and you're not sure if you have enough milk (even though in all but a few cases, mums who think they haven't got enough milk actually do). Being part of a group of mums breastfeeding babies at all ages, you will see that it should get so much easier once you get through those first few weeks. And if it doesn't get easier, you will have a good sample group to compare your baby's behaviour with.

After this, I recommend:

1. a supportive partner if at all possible. I definitely agree about not walking off and leaving everything out of reach. In fact I used to get fed up with dp walking off even if he did leave everything in reach. I think he thought it was important to give us peace and quiet, but I wanted someone around - either to chat to me during the long feeds (because breastfeeding a newborn takes a long time) or to offer sympathy when it wasn't going well.

Also, in retrospect, I don't think I ever explained to dp exactly why I thought breastfeeding was so important, and what he could do to help. Partners often just see the heartbreak involved when breastfeeding doesn't go smoothly, and think that by suggesting formula they are supporting you - after all they are offering you a break from something that is making you so upset and tired. I never thought to say to dp: I get very thirsty, so I need a drink each time I sit down to feed; or I would like the phone within reach so I can chat to my sister; or I could do with a sleep when the baby sleeps, without worrying about who is going to do the washing up.

1. Lots of fuel. I liked cereal bars, Brazil nuts, flapjacks and cartons of apple juice. And if you like herbal teas, fennel is supposed to help with milk supply. Don't make yourself drink it unless you like it, though.

1. Loads of pillows and cushions (although perhaps just one good breastfeeding cushion works just as well. I never found out lol.

1. Washable breastpads. If you leak as much as I did the first and second times, you will get through the disposable ones very quickly.

1. I preferred Kamillosan to Lansinoh and it's less likely to cause allergies (some kids may be allergic to lanolin).

1. Work out how you will feed at night - a comfy chair and a dim lamp might help. Once the baby is big enough, see if someone can show you how to feed lying down. There are certain safety and comfort points to address but (imho) it beats sitting bolt upright in a chair in the middle of the night.

1. A good breastfeeding book might help. 'Bestfeeding' has good diagrams - until I saw that book I didn't quite realise how exactly the nipple and boob are positioned in the baby's mouth. Also the kellymom.com website has great, scientific evidence-based information.

1. Helpline numbers - every time I called I thought 'why didn't I do that earlier, that was so helpful'. Again, I found the La Leche League the best, although I often had to redial several times before I found someone who was in, and not just an answerphone.

I'm sure other people will have a different list, but well done to you for going in positively and I wish you all the best

time for bed now I think...

I second gaelicsheep's suggestion of a DVD box set - the series Lost will forever remind me of newborn DD.

You can't put it in a survival kit, but the key to me getting through was when I felt upset and ready to pack it in, I handed DD to DH after a feed and went and had a lovely hot shower. Even if it was only for 5 mins, it was 5 mins to have to myself to try to relax, cry, or pretend I didn't have to go out and start again once the shower was over :).

Once you've both got the hang of feeding, feeding lying down is a godsend.

Also gaelicsheep, I found that I had heaps of Lansinoh left over and it is the single best lip balm I have ever used!

Magazines and books for when you get bored of the DVD box set.

I read loads of books in the first few weeks. When I was just lying there in bed at night, waiting for to wind and be asleep enough to put down. That's when I read bfeeding stuff and even a parenting book I was given.

Magazines weren't good enough for me as I'm too quick a reader.

Getting out to groups where people BF was very important for me. Don't think I would have got through the 6 weeks growth spurt without it. Use also useful to answer those questions that you can only ask when you get there (if that makes sense). All those, is this normal type things.

When your nipples are really sore expose them to the sun for a few minutes. Coupled with lasinoh really worked for me.

Put the helpline numbers in your phone now so they're to hand when you need them - you won't want to go and look them up. I wish I'd done this; I didn't phone them til ds was nearly 3 weeks old - madness!

wrt lansinoh, i like it but it is expensive and I was given some free sachets in hospital. So you could wait to see whether you like it before splashing out.

If you get to the point where you're about to give up because it's too painful, try nipple shields before you buy some formula. They saved me.

Also, when I felt my resolve was weakening, I read The Politics of Breastfeeding, it's great for extra motivation!

Big jug of water/juice/ pot of tea etc next to you while you feed, I get v dehydrated.
Big pile of tissue/ muslin to save getting up & down
Loose tops

I had a tin of chocolate/cake/biscuits next to the bed for nightfeeds - it made waking up every two hours in the night much more bearable!

DS sleeps from 8pm-3am before wanting his first feed of the night now, so plenty of time for some drinks in the evening.

I'll second everything everyone else has said.

Also front opening pyjamas - we had difficulty at first so we were doing skin to skin all the time, much easier to just open your shirt and tuck the baby in than strip off every time.

And learn to type one handed so you can go on MN!

Best of luck

iPhone for mning, easier than laptop

Comfy chair/cushions/remote control/phone.
Lots of healthy snacks and treats too.
Lots of water/fluids - whatever you like - I was so thirsty!
The odd glass of wine is fine too!

Enjoy those precious early weeks, they will be over in a flash

Definitely Lansinoh and airing my nipples, rather than stuffing straight back in a bra, really helped mine too.

Kamillosan.

Laptop.

Phone numbers - use 'em all!

OH to wait on you.

Copy of the politics of breastfeeding for inspiration.

I managed a few weeks with ds1; now happily bfing ds2, 5mths.

-Loads of good stuff here already to put in your survival kit.

Here's a few more..

-Lots of meals prepared and stashed in the freezer.

• An insulated mug so that your tea doesn't get cold(OK that's not essential)

-don't underestimate the value of restricting visitors and just going to bed and doing skin to skin with your baby for a couple of days- I so wish I'd done this now. -Keep asking for help- you may find you get conflicting advice from mws and hvs but push for support if you're having probs (of course it may be plain sailing - not everyone has trouble bfing)

• have an idea of what a good latch is (check out Jack Newman videos online) and how you know the baby is sucking well

and one last thing not to pack is your clock...at least for the first 6 weeks or so, just watch your baby, feed often and sleep when you can.

Best of luck and stay in touch. [hsmile]

Agree with restricting visitors - I had a visiting day where I went to my mum's and all the multitudes of family that wanted to see the baby came over there for an hour or two at once. Then I got to go back to bed in my nice, quiet flat afterwards

That's a great idea MoonUnitAlpha - it means someone else can tidy up after the numerous cups of tea too.

Only thing I'd add is if your boobs get engorged and hot put savoy lettuce in your bra (you have to prick the leaf a few times first to release whatever is in it). The first 2 weeks are the hardest, then it's fine in my experience - one year with first, 20 months and still going with second (stopping at 2 whether she likes it or not! I'm already 8 months further than I expected).

The Food of Love by Kate Evans, easy to read while feeding - wish I'd read it in the early days